(Yes the video is speed up! It is not your imagination)
So, we have been tossing around the idea for a while now of trying to get a Quadcopter to mate with a Hexapod and produce us a mechanical offspring that could walk and fly. So when we came across the opportunity to get a PhantomX Hexapod kit from our friends over at Trossen Robotics we jumped at the chance. Thanks again to the guys over at Trossen for the Kit, and your assistance.

Our first attempt at getting a Quadcopter that could walk involved locking the two machines in a closet for a few days in hopes nature would take its course. When it became apparent this approach wasn’t going to work we knew we had to intervene.

We knew right away that the Hexapod needed to be lighter, a lot lighter. So we opted to make a carbon fiber frame and legs for it. We designed up a frame, and used some spare G10 we had lying around to cut a test frame (Its WAY cheaper the Carbon fiber if you make a mistake). After the test frame was cut, and the Hexapod assembled (a long tedious process involving lots of tiny Dynamixel screws and nuts), programmed, tested (A very fun process), and disassembled again we cut ourselves a fancy and lightweight carbon fiber version.

Switching to Carbon Fiber turned out to be a very good decision, not only did it save us a ton of weight over the original ABS plates that come with the kit, but it also looks super cool. Even though we...Continue Reading